Where are the local councils?

Since the return of democratic rule in 1999, local councils have been hampered and slowed by militating forces, making governance to suffer, reports Sunday Oguntola

For the 774 local government councils across the federation, fifteen years of uninterrupted democratic governance is yet to deliver the much-needed respites for their operations. Investigations revealed that most of them are hampered by partisan politics, governors’ suffocating influence and illegal revenue deductions, among others.

Conceived as the third tier of government, local councils are expected to bring governance closer to the grassroots and give citizens a sense of belonging. They have the statutory powers to also initiate economic policies and carry out projects of significant value to citizens at the grassroots.

The 1999 Constitution in its fourth schedule, section 7 sub sections 1 and 2 clearly spells the functions of local government to include:

(a) The consideration and the making of recommendations to a State commission on economic planning or any similar body on

(i)The economic development of the State, particularly in so far as the areas of authority of the council and of the State are affected, and

(ii) Proposals made by the said commission or body;

(b) Collection of rates, radio and television licences;

(c) Establishment and maintenance of cemeteries, burial grounds and homes for the destitute or infirm;

(f)Construction and maintenance of roads, streets, street lightings, drains and other public highways, parks, gardens, open spaces, or such public facilities as may be prescribed from time to time by the House of Assembly of a State;

(g) Naming of roads and streets and numbering of houses;

(h) Provision and maintenance of public conveniences, sewage and refuse disposal;

(i) Registration of all births, deaths and marriages;

(j)Assessment of privately owned houses or tenements for the purpose of levying such rates as may be prescribed by the House of Assembly of a State; and

(k) Control and regulation of –

(i) out-door advertising and hoarding,

(ii) Movement and keeping of pets of all description,

(iii) Shops and kiosks,

(iv)Restaurants, bakeries and other places for sale of food to the public,

(v) Laundries and licensing, regulation and control of the sale of liquor.

Other functions, according to the constitution, include: the provision and maintenance of primary, adult and vocational education; the development of agriculture and natural resources, other than the exploitation of materials; the provision and maintenance of health services and such other functions as may be conferred on a local government council by the House of Assembly of the State.

Checks revealed that most councils across the federation are not only failing in these functions but almost comatose. Steve Nwankwo, a public analyst, puts it more succinctly: “It’s obvious our councils are doing nothing other than paying salaries and collecting rates.”

He added: ‘You only find them in parks and motor garages, maybe in their secretariats too during rallies or political meetings. Other than that, you don’t feel their impact at all. One wonders where they are when inner roads are not tarred and infrastructure at the grassroots level remains at comatose state.”

Nwankwo, who expressed grave sadness over the performances of councils, said most of them have failed. “It’s all there for us to see. What projects have they carried out? How many schools do they operate successfully? How many roads have they constructed? Have many water have they provided for the people? Nigerians have not felt their impact and are wondering whether or not they exist in the first place.”

The odds against local government administration

Many council bosses, who spoke with our correspondent, confirmed many stakes are arrayed against their performances. One of them pointed at undue interferences from states as the biggest challenge confronting them. He said: “Truth is it is difficult for us to perform much, since we are not miracle workers. When you have governors breathing down your necks and insisting you do things in certain ways, it is become impossible to really do otherwise.”

Most governors, it was gathered, have council bosses where they want them-in their pockets. This is not unexpected because most council chairmen owe their emergence to the almighty state governors, who nominated and bankrolled their elections. In states where council polls have not been conducted, interim chairmen are handpicked loyalists and associates of governors.

Last month, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) bemoaned the failure of at least 11 states to conduct council elections, saying the development erodes democratic values at the grassroots. The states, according to INEC, include Abia, Bauchi, Borno, Delta, Ekiti, Imo, Kano, Katsina, Ondo, Osun and Oyo. Councils, in these states, are governed by appointed caretaker chairmen or Transition committees.

Analysts believe governors who are indisposed to engaging in political popularity contest deliberately prevent council polls from holding to retain their grips in the grassroots. A former councillor in a local government recalled how his chairman was more or less the puppet of the governor. “He won’t do anything without clearance from the governor. Many of us were surprised he was that subservient but he kept telling us he had to comply to retain the seat. It was more or less a servant-master relationship,” he shared.

Elections or affirmation?

Even in states that held elections, the INEC’s stakeholders’ forum expressed serious concerns over alleged imposition of candidates. In most cases, the ruling parties swept the polls, making analysts wonder if voters were teleguided. Stanley Uche, who was an electoral officer in a northern state, said the exercise was more or less a mere affirmation.

“There were no opposition candidates at all. You either vote for those presented by the ruling party or walk away. In most cases, people just voted for the only available candidates, not necessarily their preferred choices.” Such situations, it was learnt, abound in several states where governor forcefully stifle opposition and run them out of existence to pave way for the emergence of their anointed candidates.

Whither accountability?

Since most council bosses were elected through the magnanimity of states’ executives and godfathers, their loyalty to the electorates is totally non-existent. They rather consider their political benefactors first in governance, a development that fuels corruption and nepotism. A council worker, who spoke under strict anonymity, said most of them were recommended for the jobs by a certain godfather. Another council worker in a south-east state stated that most of them suffer salaries’ deduction anytime a political godfather has any private function.

Yinka Ogundeji, a rural dweller, lamented the complete breakdown of governance in his council area. “The chairman is never around. He only comes when he wants to dispense money or favour to his cronies. He is the only elected government official we get to see but we don’t feel his impact at all,” he said.

His tale of woes reverberates throughout many grassroots dwellers across the nation. Many of them say their council chairmen and chairpersons do not consider them important in the schemes of things. Most projects, they say, are not tailored for their immediate needs but to accomplish outlandish, lofty goals, most defined by godfathers and political benefactors of council heads.

Financial starvation

Perhaps, the biggest challenge facing local council administration is the illegal deduction from statutory allocations from the federation accounts. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was so incensed at a point that he started publishing the official monthly allocations to councils in the country. He alleged that many governors were removing certain percentage of the allocations before they eventually share whatever is left to the councils.

Since he left office, illegal deductions of federal allocations has continued across the country. Most council bosses admitted the misnomer but refused to be quoted. They said it was simply a issue “beyond us”, choosing to remain silent until the “coast is clear.”

A former council accountant, who refused to be named, said his council’s statutory allocation was never fixed due to unannounced deductions. “Sometimes, it would be say like N20 million while at another time it would be N22-24million, depending on the mood of the governor,” he began. “We could not complain but simply improvise or cut the salaries and allowances we pay based on what eventually gets to us.”

This development leaves the councils financially depleted with no leftovers for capital projects. The fluctuating overheads and the reserves for political job-grabbers and benefactors further erode councils’ funds. These leave them with little or nothing for developmental projects.

Where are the local councils?

Haruna Abass, a primary school teacher, believes that local councils have not done much in the last 15 years. “They are just there. We only hear them in newspapers that they have done this and that. We don’t get to see or feel what they do. The grassroots is suffering because there is virtually little or no governance there”.

Mary Eke, a trader, corroborates the claim. She said she only remember council administration exists when officials come to demand annual charges on her shop. “I pay all manners of charges without getting anything in return. For me, they are only rent collectors with no value whatsoever to offer the citizens.”

James Alex is convinced councils have performed dismally in 15 years. “Look at Lagos, what do they do? The state government is carrying out the projects they should be doing. Even inner roads are constructed by the state. So, what have they done? You look around and cannot honestly mention one or two,” he argued.

All of these have made some stakeholders and analysts canvass autonomy for the third tier of government. But autonomy, Nwankwo contends, will not address dismal performances at the council level. He said the moment councils are allowed to access federal allocations directly, corruption will exacerbate at the local level with graver consequences for the polity.

“I support autonomy but I am convinced that accountability is what we need. If we give them a N1 billion, for example, they will spend everything without trace. The point is we must get people interested in governance at the local council level so that they can demand accountability and monitor councils’ activities for societal good,” he stated.